Tragedy in the USA/ Albanian family loses three children in house fire! Parents and two other children in critical condition, GoFundMe launched to help

2026-08-27 19:08:08Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Tragedy in the USA/ Albanian family loses three children in house fire! Parents
The Manatee Family

New details have come to light from the tragedy that struck the Albanian Manati family in Jacksonville, Florida, where three children lost their lives after their home caught fire on the morning of August 26.

American media reports that the victims are 11-year-old twins and a 2-year-old child. The parents and two other children in the family, ages 2 months and 9 years, survived the fire, but are hospitalized in critical condition.

The Manati family is originally from Lushnja, and after the tragedy, relatives and the community mobilized to come to the aid of the family who, within a few minutes, lost their three children, their home, and everything inside it.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning on Windergate Drive, near Old St. Augustine Road, in the Mandarin area of ​​Jacksonville. The alarm was raised at around 5:13 a.m., and firefighters arrived just four minutes later.

Crews found large flames on the first floor and heavy smoke on the second floor. Authorities said two adults and two children had managed to escape the apartment before firefighters arrived. A witness said a toddler and an adult jumped out of a second-floor window and were caught by bystanders.

But three children remained inside the house. During the search, firefighters found them without any signs of life. The flames were brought under control at around 05:38.

The fire destroyed the family's home and damaged two other homes. The American Red Cross is also working to help other residents displaced by the event.

GoFundMe for the Manati family

Following the tragedy, Alessia Firi, a relative of the family, opened a GoFundMe campaign titled " Help the Manati Family ", to help cover the extraordinary costs the family is facing.

"The hope is to ease at least some of this burden so that the family can focus on healing, grieving, and being together," the appeal for help says.

The outpouring of solidarity has been immediate. Over $128,000 has been raised from more than 900 donors, while the goal set on GoFundMe is $110,000.


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